The present invention is a method that generally relates to the reduction in size of malignant tumors in mammals, more particularly lab rodents, pets domestic mammals, and other mammals not excluding humans. Reducing antigenic load by surgery or chemotherapy in lab animals, pets and domestic animals is cost prohibitive and in many cases is ineffective.
Current therapies do not address important aspects in the pathogenesis of cancer.
One of the main reasons, besides size, why a malignant tumors persist in the face of immunolgical onslaught is because of the shedding of antigen from the cancer cells in excess with attacking antibodies form antigen-antibody complexes, blocking further attack from the immune system (page 149 FIG. 8-15 ‘Essential Concepts in Immunology’). (page 245 FIG. 8:14 ‘Essential Immunology’).
This process further results in suppressing the response and works towards establishing tolerance of the malignant tumor (page 149 FIG. 8-16 ‘Essential Concepts in Immunology’), (Science, vol. 257 Aug. 21, 1992 pages 1130-1133).
Other immunotherapies fail because these therapies attempt to employ mostly, via vaccines and other modes, macrophages, neutriphils, killer cells, and cytotoxic t cells, which are equipped to eliminate smaller pathogens. Although these cells are needed in the total response, they are by themselves ineffective against targets that are too large and that are immunolgically shielded by antigen antibody complexes. While macrophages do phagocytose antigen and antibody complexes, their minor presence as infiltrates inside tumors, for the most part, is for the purpose of cleaning up cellular debris. Under normal circumstances their activity in the tumor is at the least negligible and at the worst counterproductive as they would help maintain the viability of tumor cells by clearing away cellular debris.
While some research groups have come to appreciate activated eosinophils as a potentially important tool in reducing the size of malignant tumors they fail to, as it seems, recognize important aspects about eosinophils, as a strategic arm of the immune system, in effectively fighting pathogens that measure up to a profile very similar to that of malignant tumors. Therefore they fail to fully exploit this advantage.
This invention is a method for reducing malignant tumors by using activated eosinophils, a type of white blood cell elicited by helminth (a multi-cellular parasite) antigen.
This method addresses an important aspect in the pathogenesis of cancer namely size, immunolgical shielding and evasion.
It addresses this aspect by eliciting activated eosinophils to the tumor site and causing them to respond along with the other immunocytes to respond to the tumor as if it were a helminth.
Eosinophils are strongly associated with the Th 2 immune response and because they are capable of both phagocytsising antigen and antibody complexes (Clinical and Basic Immunology 1977 edition page 285) and antibody cell-mediated cytotoxicty (ADCC) they have ease of access to and into the tumor. And as they are functionally equipped to fight helminths which present similar strategy criteria as malignant tumors (size, immunological shielding and evasion) they meet the necessary strategic requirements in reducing tumor size in mammals.
Furthermore, because helminth excretory and secretory helminth antigens elicit such a pronounced Th2 immune response, that they cause bystander (Eur. J. Immunol. 2000. 30: pg. 1977-1986 J. Holland et. al.) antigens (tumor) responses to also be driven to a Th2 response. This results in the mammal immunolgically responding to the tumor as if it were a helminth.